#FoodTruckPeoria

As a Bradley student who at one point lived on campus with no car or means of transportation, I can fully understand the belief that there are only so many good places to eat around campus that are both delicious and reasonably priced. After an upcoming vote, this may change.

In the past decade, the popularity of food trucks has exploded. From television shows, like “The Great Food Truck Race” to movies like “Chef,” these mobile eateries are becoming more mainstream than ever.

On Feb. 24, Peoria City Council will vote whether to devote city staff resources to drawing up a new ordinance for food trucks. This will be the second vote on the matter, as a six to five vote in 2012 shot down the last proposal. Some of the opposing views focused on taking away business from well-established restaurants and their owners in Peoria.

Randon Gettys, a contributor for The Whiskey City Collaborative, is one of the leaders in the push for allowing food trucks their due space in Peoria. With a four-part plan that includes getting support from Peoria diners, getting support from stakeholders, putting together a report for city staff and council and talking with stakeholders on both sides of the issue to better assess the general feeling, Gettys said he feels that the initiative is on the right track.

“We have over 300 names of people who are supporting us that we’ve acquired through digital means, like social media and that sort of thing,” Gettys said. “And we have over 30 business owners, some of whom are restaurant owners specifically in Peoria that have spoken up in support of food trucks as well, so we have a pretty solid backing.”

So if this were to pass and the food trucks were given the green light, what would it mean for the Bradley community? Hearing many underclassmen talk about how little life and culture Peoria has is by no means new, but that’s because this thought is taking place within the Bradley bubble.

The potential passing of this initiative could allow for some culinary culture to make its way closer to campus, along with the business it will seek out downtown.

“If food trucks are allowed to operate outside downtown, like in the Bradley area, I think it would be tremendous for Bradley students in terms of creating pedestrian traffic in the Bradley area and the West Bluff neighborhood,” Gettys said.

Of course there are plenty of concerns on issues like sanitation, waste and parking. Rightfully so. These are the questions people need to ask with any sort of new endeavor trying to make its way onto the radar, and a smart business needs to know how to answer these kinds of questions. For now, the primary push is for the initial green light.

Interested folks can read more about the potential food trucks in Peoria at www.thewhiskeycity.com/projects/foodtruckspeoria/, where they can also voice support for the initiative.